WINNIPEG -- A Manitoba government backbencher is apologizing after calling asylum seekers a "drain on society" on Twitter and for retweeting posts that suggested Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was a "scumbag."

Cliff Graydon posted a message late Tuesday saying he is undergoing sensitivity training and taking a break from social media after coming under fire for the posts.

Above all political debates must be respected. This is a standard that I've not met on social media, as a result I will be taking some sensitivity training while limiting social media activity. I wish to offer my sincere and unequivocal apology for any offensive I've made

"Above all political debates must be respected," he posted. "This is a standard that I've not met on social media, as a result I will be taking some sensitivity training while limiting social media activity. I wish to offer my sincere and unequivocal apology for any offensive (sic) I've made."

In a tweet posted at the end of January, Graydon replied to a tweet where a woman called asylum seekers "illegals" and called them a "drain on society."

(Screenshot/Twitter)

Graydon represents the town of Emerson on the United States border where many asylum seekers have crossed into Canada.

Last week, he retweeted a post which called Trudeau "a disgrace" with the hashtag "scumbag." An earlier retweet from December 2017 referred to "turdeau" and questioned "How can any woman vote for that SICK/RETARDED/TRAITOR?"

Could you have imagined 10yrs ago that Canada would regress to this level of depravity?